Focal-plane curtain shutter for cameras



Aug. 10, 1948.

C. W. CRUMRINE 'FOCAL PLANE CURTAIN SHUTTER FOR CAMERAS 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Nov. 8, 1945 ClU-UDDDDCIDDDD DDUD 1 I ATTORNEYS TDDCID DDDDDUDU N DUDDDDDDDUCIUDCI CHESTERW.CR

INVENTOR Aug. 10, 1948. c. w. CRUMRINE FOCAL PLANE CURTAIN SHUTTER FOR CAMERAS 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed New. 8, 1945 CHESTER W. CRUMRINE INVENTOR MXZW ATTORNEYS Aug. 10, 1948. c. w. CRUMRINE 2,446,638

FOCAL PLANE CURTAIN SHUTTER FOR CAMERAS Filed Nov. 8, 1945 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 FIG/5.

" ATTORNE Y3 c. w. CRUMRINE 2,446,638

FOCAL PLANE CURTAIN SHUTTER FOR CAMERAS Aug. 10, 1948.

5 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Nov. 8, 1945 m N UE O V mm m 7/ w m M m w 1 Es g Aug. 10, 1948. c. w. CRUMRINE 2,445,533

' FOCAL PLANE CURTAIN SHUTTER FOR CAMERAS Filed NOV. 8, 1945 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 FIG.13.

0 CHESTER W. CRUMRINE f INVENTOR BY Wh m/d ATTORNEYS Patented Aug. 10, 1948 FOCAL-PLANE CURTAIN SHUTTER FOR CAMERAS Chester W. Crumrine, Rochester-,N, Y assignor to Eastman Kodak Company, Rochester,.N. Y.,v a corporation of New Jersey Application November 8, 1945, SerialNo.-627,448

18 Claims.

This invention relates to photography and more particularly to focal plane shutters. One object of my invention is to provide a curtain-type of shutter particularly adapted for use in aerial cameras. Another object of my invention is to provide a curtain-type of shutter with which a number of differently-timed exposures can be' obtained and in which an extremely simple mechanism is employed for setting the shutter for the differently-timed exposures. Another object of my" invention is to provide a driving mechanism for the shutter curtains which will be immediatel'y restored to its driving position after an exposure; A still further object of my invention is to provide a shutter with two curtain members carried by a pair of spaced rotatable supports in such a manner that one curtain may be adjusted relatively to the other curtain in order to alter an exposure slot between the two curtain members. A still further object of my invention is to provide a curtain shutter in which the curtain members may be mounted to slide one over the other to simplify the shutter adjusting mechanism. Other objects will appear from the following specification, the novel features being particularlypointed out in-the claims at the end thereof.

In shutters commonly used for aerial cameras for ordinary reconnaissance work, it is customary to provide a shutter which may be adjusted for the desired exposure before the plane leaves the ground, and in which the same exposure will be constantly repeated throughout the trip. In some instances cameras have been provided with removable shutters which have only a single speed, so that the shutter giving the desired exposure may be fitted to the camera before each trip. The-reason for doing this is to reduce the complications of the shutter mechanism which is usuall y'nece'ssary in shutters in which two curtains are provided with a variable width slot betweenthe curtains through which an exposure is made. One of" the objects of my invention is to provide-ta simple means" by which curtains can be adjusted=for a number of different exposures.

This application is a cOntinuation-in-part of my'applic'ation for Focal plane shutter, Serial No. 516,921, filed January 4, 1944, now abandoned.

Coming now to the drawings wherein like reference'ch'a'racters denote like parts throughout:

Fig. 1 is a top plan view of a shutter constructedin accordance with and embodying a preferred form of my invention, the curtains being shown in a-position of rest;

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section through the shutter. mechanism shown in Fig; 1;

Fig. Risa-fragmentary detailpart section showing a portion ofthe shutter control windingposition, the parts being in the position they assume after. the motor is-startedand after the curtain has stopped just completing an exposure; v

Fig. 4 -is a: diagrammatic view showing the electric: circuit control, the parts being shown in a normal or a restposition;

Fig. 5 is a transverse section through the shutter mechanism shown in Fig. 1, certain-parts-beingshown in elevation;

Fig; 6 is-a fragmentary detailshowing a portion of the shutter winding mechanism;

Fig. '7 is afragmentary detail showing a portion of the motor drive and its connection to-a film spool;

Fig; 81s a fragmentary detail partially insection showing a portion of the power drive-control and. the motor control switch;

Fig. 9 isa'view similar t'o-Fig. 8 with the switch omit-ted and-with the rocker arm in-a normalor rest position ready to make an exposure;

Fig. 10-is-alongitudina-l section through the adjusting rollerand spool and'showing an adjusting mechanism by which the-relation of two curtains is varied to alter anexposure aperture between the curtains.

Fig. 11 is a sectional view through theopposite supporting roll to that shown in Fig. 10.

Fig. 12 is a-- fragmentary detail sectionshowing a portion of' a camshaft drive;

Fig. 13' is a perspectiveview of a pair of curtain members removed from the shutter.

Fig. 14 is a somewhat schematic sectionalview showing the relationship of the two shutter membersand showing the'shutter in its normal position of rest.

Fig. 15-is=a side=elevation of an adjustable ca'm illustrating a preferred embodiment of a portion ofmyinvention.

Mypresent shutter is of thetype in which there is a pair of'spacedrotatable supports about which two curtain-members are looped, one at least partially overlying the other. Withreferenceto Figs. 13' and 14, the'curtain l, with its attachedor integrally-formed tapes 5 and 6; constitutes one curtain member, and the curtain 2; with its'attached tapes 8, forms the-second curtain member. In Fig. 13, the-curtains are shown in perspective and they are" shown in their relative positions of rest except that when-these curtains are assembled; the curtain I lies inside of the tapes I1 and the tapes 5' and 1 forming-apart of the curtain member 1 extending inside" of and beneath the curtain 2. When th'ese'twocurta'ins are so-as sembled, as is diagrammatically shown in Fig. 14, there is a space D between the ends of the curtain members i and 2 which constitutes an exposure slot, and at the other ends of the curtains l and 2, there is an overlap indicated at O which overlap will vary in extent in accordance with the variation of the width of the slot D, but in no case will the overlap be insufficient to prevent light from entering between these curtains.

The curtains l and 2 are preferably formed of highly-polished metal, such as stainless steel of. .002 or .003 inch in thickness, and the curtains are therefore slippery and one can readily slide relative to the other. In order to retain the two curtains in the proper relationship, the perforations 9 of curtain 2, and the perforations I of curtain l, engage sprocket rollers l4 and [5 as will be more fully described later. V

The slot D, between the curtain edges 3 and 4, extends transversely of the curtains l or 2 and, in the form of my invention shown in Fig. 13, reinforcing strips 4' and 3' are shown as extending completely across the two curtain members. These reinforcing strips may be omitted, if desired, but they are useful in that they make the edges of the curtains somewhat more rigid than they might otherwise be. However, it is pointed out that the drawings show these reinforcing members of much greater thickness than they actually are and that this is also true of the curtain members with their tapes, because with metal of the thickness indicated above, both the curtains themselves and. the reinforcing strips are exceedingly thin, the two being in the order of .004 inch. Thus, the reinforcing strips do not prevent one curtain from sliding freely on the other when the exposure slot D is to be altered. Figs. 13 and 14 clearly indicate that each curtain member comprising a curtain and its tapes form, in effect, an endless band and, in this instance, curtain 2 forms an endless band of slightly greater length than curtain I because curtain 2 lies over the top of curtain I. Also, as shown inFig. 1, the width W of curtain l is less than the width WI of curtain 2. The perforations I in curtain l are spaced a distance W2 from the edge of the curtain and the perforations it! of the curtain 2 are spaced a distance W3 from the edge of curtain 2, so that the perforations in may coincide with the perforation 1 and so that the second row of perforations 9, which are spaced a distance W4 from the edge of the curtain, will lie completely outside of, or beyond the edge of curtain l.

The reason for this spacing of the perforations is that in moving one curtain over the other to vary the width D of the exposure slot. the sprocket wheels H and iii are moved to separate the sprockets, and the teeth l4 and i5 engaging the perforations 1 and 9 cause the'tape 8 and the curtain I to separate during the setting operation. This movement between the sprockets H and I5 is comparatively slight-approximately .040 inch and since the tapes 8 are quite flexible, this movement can be readily accomplished. As will appear from the specification later, when the settin movement occurs, the curtains always have the relationship shown in Figs. 1, 13, and 14.

The two curtains are carried by a pair of spaced rotatable supports, These supports turn with, or upon, the spaced parallel shaft l8 and 66. The first rotatable support may consist of a tubular shaft l l mounted to turn with the shaft 18 which shaft is a drive shaft adapted to be rotated by a spring l9 connected to the shaft at 20, the

opposite end 2! of the spring l9 being attached to, or engaged in, a slot in the end of the ferrule 22 which carries a spiral drive gear 23 meshing with the drive spiral gear 24 carried by the cam shaft 25. At one end of the spaced rotatable support, there is a pair of sprocket wheels ii and I3 having teeth l4 and I5 around their peripheries for engaging the perforations in the curtains and their tapes. At the opposite end of this rotatable support, there is a cap-shape roller H, this roller having sprocket teeth l3.

In order to control the speed of rotation of the rollers l l, H, and it (since all these rollers forming one rotatable support move together during an exposure), I provide a governor in a housin 23 in the form of a pair of weighted arms 21, best shown in Fig. 10. These weighted arms may each swing upon pins 23 carried by the ferrule 22 when the rollers H, H, and iii are rotated. This governor may be of a known centrifugal type in which shoes 'may swing outwardly and brake against the cylindrical surface 23 when rotation reaches a predetermined speed.

The sleeve shaft I! may be held against rota tion by means of a brake, or clutch member consisting of a base plate 30, threadedly attached at 3! to the sleeve shaft I1, and there is a similar shaped face plate 32 attached to an axially sliding member 33 which may be moved when a brake shaft 34 moves a lever 35. This lever may move the brake shoe against the pressure of a spring 36 held on the sleeve 3'! by means of a ring 38. Friction material 39 lies between the brake faces and 32. When the lever is rocked by the brake shaft 34 in the direction shown by the arrow in Fig. 10, the friction material 39 is disengaged from the brake face 30 permitting the spring N to drive the rollers II, I l, and I5, constituting a first rotatable support through one cycle which is sufficient movement to cause the curtains to move from their Fig. 14 position so that the slot D will move in a straight line path until it reaches one rotatable support; the movement continuing around this support beneath a film F, around the second spaced rotatable support, and back to its position of rest shown in this figure, The second rotatable support may consist of a pair of spaced spools l2 carried by a sleeve shaft 63 and mounted to turn on roller bearings 64 and 65 on the shaft 66 which is supported in the bearings 6'! and 68. At least one of the rollers I2 is preferably provided with sprocket teeth 69 and, if desired, both of the rollers may have sprocket teeth as shown,

When it is desired to set the shutter to produce different widths D between the facing edges 3 and 4 of the curtains l and 2, the settin mechanism shown in Fig. 10 may be used. The roller i6 and the adjacent roller H are provided with facing teeth and 4! which normally engage similar teeth 42 and 43 carried by a disk 44. This disk is held between two threaded tubular members and 46, the latter of which also forms the face 30 of the brake. The facing teeth 40, 4!, 42, and 43 are shown on a considerably magnified scale in Fig. 10 since these teeth may be only .040 so that an actual movement of .020 may separate the teeth, Thefunction of the teeth 40 and 4B is two-fold. First, these teeth may be separated by inserting a toothed member between them which may lift them away from the teeth 42 and. 43, and away from each other, so that the roller Il may be moved relatively to the roller it. Second, the teeth 40 and 4| and the teeth 42 and 43-, when engaged; cause-the three rollers II, II, and. I6'to moveas a unitwhenthe spaced rotatable supportstf'or: the curtains (one of'which is formed by'thesez. rollers); turn. to make an exposure. Springs 41 and 481 normally hold the partsclutched'together with the generally radial teeth in contact; However, the teeth Mand I5, carried by the rollers II and I 6, may be. moved about to permit theteeth' 40 and 4! to;-become disengaged: from the teeth 42' and: 43 sothatthe curtains may beset for' the required: exposure: This is accomplished by means of a'toothedzmemher, or web, 5.! which may constitute: a two'- toothed gear; This gear isso shaped that it may be turned to move th rollers II and' I6 inopposite direction in increments equal: tozthe: spacing of the perforations I and 9. The web.:5:I= is carried" by a post 52'held b a spring 53i'in its rest, or inoperative, position, shown in FiglO; When the knob E4is lowered, the web 5I is passed between the spaced teeth 48 and 4 I so that by turning the knob, the first action is to separate the roller I I from the roller I6 disengaging the teeth 40 and 4| from the teeth 42 and 43. Further turning movement causes the two teeth of the setting member to move'the teeth 43: and 4| in opposite directions. thereby causing the curtain Ito move to or from the curtain 2 in such a manner that the width of the slot Dbetween the curtains I or? is altered and, at the same time, the degree of overlap between the opposite ends of the two-curtains is altered but never eliminated. The shutter must be standing still when the setting occurs in the rest position of Fig. 1 or Fig. 14. The curtains move from this position and return to this position after each exposure, traveling in one Way only.

In the present instance, the knob 54 is provided with a slot 55 which is manually manipulated with a coin or screw driver to set the shutter. Obviously, a hand knob could be used, if desired, but the structure shown is preferable for aviation cameras, The shaft 52 of the setting member includes a gear 56 meshing with a gear '1 mounted to turn with the stud 58 to thereby turn a dial 59which is provided with a scale indicating the time of exposure when this scale is brought opposite to a pointer 60'. This indicates the width of'the exposure slot-D. The knob 54 may be turned any number of turns to alter the exposure, but for the purpose this shutter was primarily designed for, three exposures have been found suffiCiBnt /25o of a second, /500 of a second, and /1000 of a second. Obviously, any required exposures can be provided. The dial 59' may be provided with indications of these shutter speeds or such additional speeds as may be deemed necessary.

The setting knob 54, in order to indicate the correct exposure, must be arranged to turn only when the web 5i lies between the roller II and the roller 15. Forthis purpose, I have provided a web BI which prevents the shaft 52 from turning until the shaft has been lowered a distance sufficient to move the Web BI- out of the slot 62. It is only possible then to turn theknob 54 when it has been depressed a distance suflicient for the web to lie between the gear teeth 40-and 4 I, The length of the gear teeth 56 is suihciently great to always remain in contact with the teeth of gear 51 in the difierent positions of the shaft 52.

As above described, the curtain I is not as wide as the curtain 2 sothat the perforations I in the curtain member I and in the tape 5; forming a part thereof; are'positioned' to engage only" the 6 gear teeth I4 of the roller: II. Thezperforaticns I0 are of similar spacing andare: inalignment with the perforations I so' that;these perform-- tions may engage the teeth I4v duringa'part only of the movement of the two curtains. to? make an exposure. The curtain 2 is considerably wider than the curtain I so that the perforationsiflaint,

the curtainmember 2 with its tapest'areadapted to engage the teeth I 5 of the roller I6. When the two curtainsiare in their-Fig. lposition', there are no perforations inthe curtain 2 engaging:the sprocket. teeth I4" and; consequently, when the sprocket teeth I 4 and I 5.-are separated, one tape ii of curtain member 2 may move relative to the curtain member I-which may either slide a slight distance, or may permit the sprocket teeth I4 to slide in the aperture 11a slight distance. necessary to permit the separation of these rollers. While I have shown the perforations 9 and I0 and: I to be generally rectangular in shape, I preferably make these perforations somewhat wider than the teeth I4 and I5, although this. is not necessary.

I have shown the curtains I and]. perforated on both sides because it is desirable on occasion to reverse the position of these shutters but it is not necessary to use all of the perforationsatione time. As indicated in Fig. 1, the most desirable. arrangement is to have the rotatable member consisting of the rollers H, II and. I6 provided with tee h as follows: Roller II is provided with teeth only for the outside row of perforations 9 of curtain 2, Roller II is provided with sprocket teeth I4 for the perforations I of curtain I, and the perforations ID of curtain 2. Roller I 6 is provided with sprocket teeth I5 to engage only the perforations 9 of the curtain member 2. The reason for this arrangement is that when: the curtains are in their rest position, it is possible for the curtain to slide axially on the roller H when the roller I I is moved axially for setting the curtains at the same time that the tap 8 moves axially and in a reverse direction due to the-movement of the sprocket I6. As above explained, this sliding movement is very slight..020 inch being sufficient-and, if desired, instead of sliding thecurtain I axially, the apertures I can be made wide enough to permit the teeth I4 to slide-inthe apertures. However, this is not necessary:

The preferred arrangement for the second spaced rotatable support consisting of'the shaft 65, the sleeve shaft 63, and the two rollers I2, is to provide a single sprocket 69 which will engage only the outer row of perforations 9- on thecurtain 2 and which will not engage the apertures I of the curtain member I. In fact, it is notnecessary to provide any sprocket teeth on' this rotatable support, but I have found that it helps to guide the curtains through the'proper path and is preferable, It is also preferable to have the sprocket teeth 59 because the rollers I2 are driven solely through the curtains and it causes the second rotatable support to move-smoothly when the first rotatable supportis moved;

The rollers I I, II, and I6 always move in one direction when making an exposureand-they remain approximately in the rest position shown in Figs. 1 and 14 between exposures. The spring lil is wound up after each exposure so thatthe-direction of movement of the two'rotatable supports for the curtains is never reversed. The winding movement is automatically accomplished by means of an electric motor. is a schematic showing indicating a source' of power Ill and II to which a motor Ills-connected In Fig. 4', there through a wire 13 to the line and through a wire M to a switch contact 75. A second wire 16 is connected to the line wire l9 and to a switch contact ll. A second pair of switch contacts 18 and 19 may be connected by a wire 8E] to the line wire H and by a wire iii to a solenoid 82 which is cnnected by a wire 83 to a switch 84 which may be closed by depressing the button 85 against the action of a spring 36. A contact bar 81 may be attached to an arm 38 carried by a lever 89 pivoted at St and spring-pressed by a spring 9i into an upward position in which a pin 92 pivotally attached at 93 to the arm 89 is in engagement with the rocker arm 9:3. This rocker arm includes a pin 95 engaging a shutter cam 96 and an arm 97 engaging a roller 93 carried by a gear 99 connected to move with the motor 12.

As indicated in Fig. 2, the solenoid 82 carries a core set connected by a link Hi! to a shaft 34 which is the brake shaft. Consequently, when the solenoid 32 is energized, it will rock-the brake shaft 34, releasing the brake When so released, the spring iii will turn the rotatable supports and shutter to make an exposure.

-With the parts in their rest position, if operator should depress the push button 85, an exposure would be made in the following' manner. Push button 85 closes the switch 8 and energizes the solenoid 82 through the following wires, it, 83, iii, switch contacts is and 79, a

contact bar 87, and a wire 88 leading to the line wire H Just as soon as the solenoid 82 releases the brake a sufficient distance, the spring It! will turn the first rotatable support consisting of rollers i i, H, and it so that this roller and the curtains E and 2 will start to move, thereby also moving the second spaced rotatable support carrying the two shutter members. As the shutter starts to move, the cam 96, which is carried by the cam shaft 25, starts to move in the direction shown by the arrow. This movement retains the rocker arm 94 in the rest position of Fig. 4 until the depression H33 in the cam comes opposite the pin 95 at which time the spring 9! will move the arm 89 upwardly breaking the connection between the switch contact 58 and W and deenergizing the solenoid 82 and making the contact between the switch contact l and El so that the motor it will be energized. Since the momentum of the first and second spaced rotatable supports and the two curtains is considerable, these supports will not be instantaneously stopped when the solenoid releases the brake 3il-32. A certain amount of coasting will take place, this coasting being determined by the type of friction material 39 between the brake members 30 and 32 and the energy and speed of the parts. If desired, the cam 56 can be made an adjustable cam, as shown at 96A in Fig. 15, this cam preferably consisting of a pair of similar plates having notches IB3A, one plate having a slot lfi 'z-A through which passes a screw HIEA so that the length of the cam llltA can be readily adjusted. However, after the shape of the cam has been once determined, the cam need not be made adjustable and the reduced area Hi3 can be made of the required length to permit the pin 95 to ride up on the outer edge of the cam through the coasting movement of the shutter parts. One feature of my improved shutter is that the shutter moves for quite a period of time before the exposure opening D crosses the film F and exposes that part of the film which lies behind the exposure frame IN. This long run before the exposure is made is desirable because it permits the shutter to get up to speed and, of course, the shutter continues to move quite awhile after the exposure is made and after the slot D has passed over the film F so that the film winding may start either just before or after the shutter members i and 2 reach their Fig. 14 position. The rest position is therefore not critical.

As soon as the solenoid 82 is deenergized, the brake 3!i32 is applied by the spring 36 which moves the brake member 32 toward the brake member 38, pressing the brake lining 39 until the first rotatable support is brought to rest. This does not occur instantaneously but as the circuit is made for the motor l2, the motor will operate until its cam es makes a revolution. The second cam will start to move because the roller 98, which forms this cam. is carried by a gear 99 turning on a shaft Hi2. This shaft turns when the motor l2 turns and it will continue moving until the cam roller S33 makes one complete revolution and again engages the pin 97. t should be pointed out here that the rocker arm 84 closes the switch iii, ll, and 87, when either end of the rocker arm is up and when both ends of the rocker arm are down, switch l8, l9, and Si closes, opening the firstmentioned switches. The switches referred to are formed by contacts iii, it, and contact bar 3? and contact "i8, i9, and contact bar 81. The cams and 9t! are arran ed as follows: Referring to Fig. 1 it will be noted that the cam 96 is carried by a shaft 25 on which there is a wormwheel 2% meshing with a spiral drive gear 23 shown in Fig. 10. Each time the sleeve shaft l1 and with it the rollers M, H, and roller l6, are turned the number of revolutions necessary to move the curtains i and 2 for an exposure, the cam 96 will be turned and the ratio is such that it makes one revolution for each exposure-making movement of the curtains.

Cam 98 is mounted on the gear 99 and is in the form of a roller positioned to engage pin El. This gear 99 is a part of the counter mechanism best shown in Figs. 1 and 8. The gear 99 is carried by a shaft H 2 which is connected to move a known type of counting mechanism ifi3C to indicate the number of exposures. The usual type of counter-setting knob Hit may be used, if desired. Gear 92 meshes with a gear I95 which, in turn, meshes with a gear 586, this latter gear being carried by shaft Eiil'. As shown in Fig. 2, shaft iii? carries a rubber roller 588 over which the film F passes. The rubber roller Hi6 and the shaft iii'l are driven from the motor 72 indirectly. As illustrated in Fig. 7, the spool core H9 is driven through gears 5890, 39B, shaft 569A. Gear Mil is carried on the end of the same shaft as a reduction gear M l meshing with the driving pinion N2 of the motor l2. Thus, the motor l2 will turn the cam 98 on the gear wheel 99 through the frictional contact of the film F and the rubber roll 598. The gear ratio is such that the roller 538 makes one revolution each time the film is wound.

From Fig. 2 it will be noted that the film F may be carried by a supply spool which consists of flanges H2 mounted on a core H3. A known type of spool-centering device lid may be used, this centering device being carried by a downwardly-extending bracket H5. Film F may be led from the supply spool H2 over the guide roller HE across an exposure frame it'd inside of the looped curtains l and ii and thence over the rubber roll I 58. From this roll the film passes than the other curtain member and including a second row of perforations whereby one curtain member may engage both toothed rollers, and means for moving the two coaxially and adjacently-rnounted rollers relative to each other both axially and rotatably to vary the slot between the curtains.

2. A curtain shutter as defined in claim 1 characterized by the curtains and their tapes being made of thin sheet metal.

3. A curtain shutter as defined in claim 1 characterized by the curtains and their tapes being made of thin sheet metal having a polished slippery surface to facilitate sliding one curtain over the other.

4. A curtain shutter as defined in claim 1 characterized by the coaxially and adjacently-mounted rollers including facin teeth normally movable towards each other by a spring and in which the means for moving the rollers includes said teeth and a toothed member movable between and engageable with the teeth.

5. A curtain shutter as defined in claim 1 charaoterized by the coaxially and adjacentlymounted rollers including facing teeth normally movable towards each other by a spring and in which the means for moving the rollers includes said teeth and a toothed member movable between and engageable with the teeth, and means for normally holding the toothed member out of engagement with said teeth.

6. A curtain shutter as defined in claim 1 characterized by the coaxially and adjacentlymounted rollers including facing teeth, a member mounted on the sleeve shaft having teeth facing in opposite directions to be engaged by the facing teeth of said rollers and to hold said teeth in a spaced position whereby said toothed member may be entered between said facing teeth to move said rollers both axially and radially.

7. A curtain shutter as defined in claim 1 characterized by the coaxially and adjacentlymounted rollers including facing teeth normally movable towards each other by a spring and in which the means for moving the rollers includes said teeth and a toothed member movable between and engageable with the teeth, and a guideway for the toothed member for guiding said member into an operative tooth engaging position.

8. A curtain shutter as defined in claim 1 characterized by the coaxially and adjacentlymounted rollers including facing teeth normally movable towards each other by a spring and in which the means for movin the rollers includes said teeth and a toothed member movable between and engageable with the teeth, and a guideway for the toothed member for guiding said member into an operative tooth engaging position, a handle for manually turning said toothed member, said guideway restraining said handle from turning when said toothed member is in an inoperative position out of engagement with the facing teeth of the rollers.

9. A curtain shutter for cameras including, in combination, a pair of spaced rotatable supports, two curtain members, each including edge tapes forming with the curtains endlessloops extending about and supported by the rotatable supports, one curtain being wider than the other curtain, the narrower curtain and its edge tape having perforations along one edge, the wider curtain and its tape having perforations along one edge and a second row of perforations in the wider curtain aligned with the perforations in the narrower curtain and its tape, one rotatable support including toothed rollers for engaging the perforations of both curtains, the two curtains and their tapes lying in overlapping relationship at one end of the curtains and in spaced relationship at the other end of the curtains to provide a transverse exposure slot, the curtains and the rotatable supports having a normal position of rest in which the toothed rollers are each engaged solely by separate curtains, and means for moving one toothed roller relative to the other for altering the relationship of one curtain relative to the other to change the exposure slot therebetween.

10. The curtain shutter defined in claim 9 characterized by the means for moving one toothed roller relative to the other being manually operable only when the toothed rollers and curtain members are in their normal position of rest.

11. The curtain shutter defined in claim 9 characterized by the means for moving one toothed roller relative to the other being manually operable only when the toothed rollers and curtain members are in their normal position of rest, and means geared to the means for moving one toothed roller relative to the other for indicating the width of the transverse exposure slot between the spaced ends of the two curtains.

12. The curtain shutter defined in claim 9 characterized by the means for moving one toothed roller relative to the other being manually operable only when the toothed rollers and curtain members are in their normal position of rest, said means for moving one toothed roller relative to the other including a manually operable handle normally spring-held out of an operative toothed roller adjusting position.

13. A curtain shutter for cameras including, in combination, a pair of spaced rotatable supports, two curtain members, each including edge tapes forming with the curtains endless loops extending about and supported by the rotatable supports, one curtain being wider than the other curtain, the narrower curtain and its edge tape having perforations along one edge, the wider curtain and its tape having perforations along one edge and a second row of perforations in the wider curtain aligned with the perforations in the narrower curtain and its tape, one rotatable support including toothed rollers for engaging the perforations of both curtains, the two curtains and their tapes lying in overlapping relationship at one end of the curtains and in spaced relationship at the other end of the curtains to provide a transverse exposure slot, each curtain member being made of thin sheet metal having at least portions of one sheet metal curtain lying in contact with at least portions of the other sheet metal curtain as the curtains and their tapes encircle the two spaced rotatable supports, and mechanism, including two relatively movable adjacent and coaxial toothed rollers, the teeth of one roller engaging perforations in one curtain and the teeth of the other roller engaging perforations in the other curtain member for sliding one metal curtain member over the other metal curtain member for adjusting the exposure slot therebetween.

14. A curtain shutter for cameras including, in combination, a pair of rotatable supports in parallel spaced relation, a narrow curtain and tapes forming an endless curtain member extending about said rotatable supports, said ourtain extending over half the distance about the supports, a wide curtain and tapes forming a second curtain member extending about said rotatable supports, said curtain extending over half the distance about the supports, one transverse edge of each curtain being spaced from the other to form an exposure slot therebetween, the two opposite transverse edges of the curtains lying in overlapping relationship, said curtains having a normal position of rest in which said exposure slot is opposite the overlapping ends of the curtains, parallel rows of equally spaced perforations adjacent edges of the wide and narrow curtains and their tapes, 3. second row of perforations in the wide curtain spaced to register with the row of perforations in the narrow curtain, one rotatable support including toothed rollers for engaging said perforations, one for engaging the row of perforations in the wide shutter member, the other for engaging the row of perforations in the narrow shutter member and the second row of perforations in the Wide shutter spaced to register with the perforations in the narrow curtain, and mechanism for moving the toothed rollers to move one curtain member relatively to the other for adjustin the slot there between, said mechanism moving the toothed rollers in increments of the spacing of one tooth and including a manually operable handle for operating said mechanism.

15. A curtain shutter for cameras including, in combination, a pair of rotatable supports in parallel spaced relation, a narrow curtain and tapes forming an endless curtain member extending about said rotatable supports, said curtain extending over half the distance about the supports, a wide curtain and tapes forming a second curtain member extending about said rotatable supports, said curtain extending over half the distance about the supports, one transverse edge of each curtain being spaced from the other to form an exposure slot therebetween, the two opposite transverse edges of the curtains lying in overlapping relationship, said curtains having a normal position of rest in which said exposure slot is opposite the overlapping ends of the curtains, parallel rows of equally spaced perforations adjacent edges of the wide and narrow curtains and their tapes, one rotatable support including toothed rollers for engaging said perforations, one for engaging the row of perforations in the wide shutter member, the other for engaging the row of perforations in the narrow shutter member, the said one rotatable support including the toothed rollers at one end and a curtain support at the opposite end on which a curtain may slide axially of the support, a sleeve shaft carrying the toothed rollers for axial and radial movement, a washer with axially facing teeth carried by the sleeve shaft between the toothed rollers, axially facing teeth on the rollers for engaging teeth on the washer for holding the rollers together, spring means for normally engaging the roller and washer teeth, a manually operable toothed member positioned for movement between the teeth of the toothed rollers, means for moving the toothed member between and into engagement with the toothed rollers when the shutter curtains are in their normal rest 14 position whereby said toothed rollers may be slid axially, disengaging their teeth from the teeth of the washer and moving the toothed rollers, thereby moving one curtain relative to the other for adjusting the width of the exposure slit.

16. A curtain shutter for cameras including, in combination, a pair of rotatably mounted spaced supports, one support COmpIlSing a shaft, 9, first fixedly mounted roller at one end thereof, a sleeve shaft at the other end, a washer on the shaft including axially facing teeth, a pair of rollers constituting second and third rollers slidably mounted on the sleeve shaft, each roller including axially facing teeth adapted to engage said washer teeth to be held against rotative movement thereby, spring means for holding the second and third roller teeth in engagement with the washer teeth, radially extending teeth on the second and third rollers, two curtain members each comprising a curtain and edged tapes with at least one edge of each curtain and tape perforated, the two curtains being looped around the pair of rotatably mounted supports in endless bands, one shutter member at least partially overlying the other and one shutter member being wider than the other whereby one shutter may engage only the first and second rollers, the other curtain engaging the first, second, and third rollers, the row of perforations in the wide curtain engaging the third roller, the row of perforations in the other curtain engaging the second roller, and a second row of perforations in the wide curtain adapted to engage the second roller, said ourtains having a normal rest position in which only the tapes of the wide curtain member engage only the first and third roller and in which only the curtain of the other curtain member engages the first and second rollers, and a mechanism including teeth insertable between the axially facing teeth of the second and third rollers for moving the rollers axially and radially thereby sliding one curtain relative to the other, one end of one curtain being spaced from the other to form an exposure slot and the other ends of the curtains lying in overlappin relationship whereby moving the second roller relative to the third roller may adjust the exposure slot between the curtains.

17. A curtain shutter as defined in claim 15 characterized by the first roller also including radial teeth, and a row of perforation in the wide curtain member for engaging said teeth.

18. A curtain shutter as defined in claim 15 characterized by the first roller also including radial teeth, and a row of perforation in the wide curtain member for engaging said teeth, the other curtain lying completely out of engagement with the teeth of the first roller.

CHESTER W. CRUMRINE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 891,770 Garfield June 23, 1908 1,379,189 Kin May 24, 1921 2,309,300 Briechle et al. Jan. 26, 1943 

